Anti-Islamist Film "Innocence of Muslims" Filmmaker, Mark Basseley Youseff Sentenced to Year in Prison

Nov 08, 2012 04:10 PM EST

Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is escorted out of his home by Los Angeles County Sheriff's officers in Cerritos, California(Photo : Reuters )

Mark Basseley Youseff, the man behind the notorious anti-Islamist film "Innocence of Muslims" was sentenced to year in prison for bank fraud. None of the charges were related to his controversial film, which sparked riots across the Muslim world earlier last month.

Youseff was charged for violating probation and lying to his probation officer, in addition to other charges.

In October, Youseff, who identified himself as Nakoula was taken into a California court for the same crimes, unrelated to the YouTube movie.

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The 55-year-old told the court that that Nakoula Basseley Nakoula was yet another alias name he used and that his real name was Mark Basseley Youseff.

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Nakoula, who was initially known under the alias name of Sam Bacile, was taken by the Los Angeles police to the LA Sheriff's station a couple of weeks ago where he was questioned over his probation from his conviction of financial fraud in 2011. According to the LA Sheriff, authorities are investigating whether Nakoula violated his five-year probation.

Protests soon spread across the Muslim world, from Egypt to Afghanistan and even Indonesia and Pakistan.

According to reports, the movie was created by the amateur filmmaker on a budget of around $5 million, most of the money coming from 100 unidentified Jewish donors, according to the Wall Street Journal. The film is called, "Innocence of Muslims," and was posted on various Internet sites, including YouTube.

The movie was initially said to be made by an Israeli-American named Sam Bacile. Bacile is 52 years old and works as a real-estate developer according to the Wall Street Journal. Bacile told the WSJ, "Islam is a cancer," he said in a telephone interview from his home. "The movie is a political movie. It's not a religious movie."

However Sam Bacile was yet another alias name.

The movie was endorsed by the same US pastor who became infamous for encouraging the burning of the Quran. Tony Jones has become notorious for voicing his anti-Islamist sentiments. In the movie, the Prophet is mocked, being depicted as scatterbrained, a child molester as well as a killer.